“Seriously, Delia?” Marshen said from behind me.
He threw a gold coin—the same gold coin I had given Flora to keep Marshen at the inn for another week, until I sent for him—at my chest. Then he threw at me the letter I left him, which was now crumpled into a ball.
“We’re going together and that’s the end of it.”
I let out a long exhale and pinched between my eyebrows. “Fine, you can join me until Frostmouth.”
“I’ll join you until Nivaria,” he countered, saddling his mare. “Did you at least bring food for me?”
I nodded.
“Good. Let’s go.”
CHAPTER 64
We arrived at the Florentine Port late. Well, not late, but exactly on time. The last ship for the day towards Frostmouth rang its chain of bells—it was about to leave.
We leapt off our mares and lunged into a run, but I almost stumbled, halting after taking the first few steps. I turned on my heel and hurried towards Vinnie and Braun.
“What are you doing?” Marshen asked.
I gave a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek to both Strongmen before sprinting towards the ship.
“Thank you!” I yelled, not looking at the men behind us.
The following morning, I huddled into Emika’s coat. I looked at the endless horizon, the sun rising somewhere beyond it. The crisp and biting wind at my face had me sniffling.
I moved to the left side of the ship and placed my hands on the wooden railing, taking in the right column of the Faded Mountains.
Black-tipped white birds called with rasping throats as they soared along the mountain-lined coast and perched at the islets scattered at the mountains’ feet.
Movement beneath me caught my eye, so I carefully bent over the wooden railing and looked below. I gasped and almostscreeched at what I beheld—dolphins! They moved in pods, swiftly and effortlessly, slicing through the waves and in and out of the sea with fluid grace.
And then a loud wail echoed over the sea, like a haunting song, that had me snapping my head back. I ran towards the right side of the ship.
My hands clenched the railing as I watched a majestic humpback whale leaping out of the blue waters and falling onto its back with a waving fin, leaving behind a trail of white foam. I was in some other place—where only I and that whale existed. I waved back with prickling eyes. The tears lining them were not because of the crisp gusts.
But then a burst of clapping sounded all around me, and that’s when I realised that other people watched, too. I glimpsed Marshen at the far end, resting against the railing. I couldn’t believe that I wished forthismale to speak, now that my previous thousand wishes for him to just shut up had come true.
I did not leave the deck until sundown, and even then, I went into my tiny cabin with reluctance.
I wiped my wet nose, which I was sure was red thanks to the frosty surroundings. I burrowed into Emika’s coat. My watch told me that it was four in the afternoon, yet the sun seemed to be already setting behind the white desert land.
The metal-hulled ship creaked as it broke through the frozen surface.
Ice Wielders gathered on either side of the gulf, melting the frozen sea around us to aid our glide. Sailing beneath the Frostmouth arch had me lifting my head. I gaped in awe. It wasas if I had been transported to a different world—a whiter, colder one.
I had imagined the Frostmouth port to be quiet, abandoned almost, but the chaos before our eyes told me that I couldn’t have been more wrong.
“Home sweet home,” Marshen mumbled.
The port was heavily guarded by Fae—males and females alike—all donned in fur and strapped with the sharpest gleaming weapons.
The guards searched through the visitors’ belongings and patted them down. Giant dogs—possibly wolves—shadowed the guards, sniffing at anyone who came close.
“Get rid of any weapons,” Marshen whispered.
“Do you recognise any of them?” I asked, drawing my daggers and reluctantly leaving them behind.
